STATE  OF  NEW  YORK. 


No.  66. 


IN  ASSEMBLY, 

Maech  2,  1880. 


SUPPLEMENTAL  REPORT 

RELATING  TO   THE  ELEVATED   RAILROADS   OF  THE 
CITY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

To  the  Honorable  the  Assembly  of  the  State  of  New  York: 

The  undersigned,  the  committee  appointed  in  pursuance  of  the  reso- 
lutions adopted  February  28th,  March  12th  and  March  27th,  1879, 
"  to  investigate  the  abuses  alleged  to  exist  in  the  management  of  the  rail- 
roads chartered  by  this  State,  and  to  inquire  into  and  report  concerning 
their  powers,  contracts  and  obligations"  have  the  honor  to  submit  a 
supplemental  report,  relating  to  the  elevated  railroads  of  the  city  of 
New  York. 

The  investigation  of  these  roads  was  commenced  before  the  full 
committee,  but  pressure  of  time,  and  the  necessity  of  preparing  the 
report  relating  to  the  general  subject  of  inquiry  necessitated  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  snb-committee  to  complete  this  branch  of  the  investi- 
gation. Accordingly  Messrs.  Baker,  Duguid  and  Noyes  were  duly 
appointed  for  that  purpose. 

They  subsequently  met  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  continued  the 
particular  subject  of  inquiry  referred  to  them,  assisted  by  Hon.  F.  J. 
Fithian,  in  the  examination  of  witnesses. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  Hon!  Horatio  Seymour,  Jr.,  State  Engi- 
neer and  Surveyor,  Mr.  E.  Sweet,  Jr.,  was  assigned  to  aid  the  com- 
mittee as  an  expert  engineer,  the  result  of  whose  examinations  into 
the  elevated  railroads,  their  construction,  operation  and  management 
is  embraced  in  his  able  and  exhaustive  report  addressed  to  Mr.  Baker, 
chairman  of  the  sub-committee,  hereto  annexed,  and  respectfully  sub- 
mitted as  part  of  this  supplemental  report. 

The  interests  of  the  several  elevated  railroad  companies  were  repre- 
sented by  John  J.  McCook,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  their  counsel.  The 

[Assem.  Doc.  No.  66.]  1 


ft. 

2 

elevated  railroads  in  New  York,  namely:  "Metropolitan  Elevated 
Bailway  Company  "  and  "  New  York  Elevated  Railroad  Company  " 
are  operated  by  the  "  Manhattan  Railroad  Company." 

The  "  New  York  Elevated  Railroad  Company  "  was  organized  Dec. 
5th,  1871,  with  a  capital  stock  as  by  charter  of  $10,000,000. 

The  "  Metropolitan  Elevated  Railway  Company  "  was  incorporated 
under  the  name  of  the  "  Gilbert  Elevated  Railway  Company  "  by  act 
of  the  legislature  in  1872  (the  present  name  having  been  authorized 
by  an  order  of  the  supreme  court,  dated  June  6,  1878),  with  a  capital 
stock  as  by  charter  of  $3,500,000. 

The  "Manhattan  Railway  Company  "  was  organized,  as  appears  by 
the  articles  of  association,  dated  November  10,  1875,  and  filed  in  the 
office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  December  29,  1875,  with  a  capital 
stock  as  by  articles  of  association  of  $2,000,000,  of  which  $100,000 
only  has  ever  been  paid  in. 

The  last-named  company  became,  under  leases  fiated  May  20,  1879, 
the  lessee  of  the  other  two  companies,  and  under  said  leases  and  a  tri- 
partite agreement  of  the  same  date  (see  exhibits,  pp.  285  to  309  of  tes- 
timony), assumed  the  management  and  operation  of  said  com- 
panies and  their  respective  roads,  and  agreed  among  other  things, 
to  pay  after  the  date  specified,  namely,  January  31,  1879: 

1.  The  principal  of  and  interest  on  the  outstanding  bonds  of  the 
respective  companies  lessors,  being  of  each  company  $8,500,000,  or  in 
the  aggregate  $17,000,000. 

2.  To  guarantee  and  pay  to  the  New  York  Company  an  annual 
dividend  of  ten  per  cent  upon  its  capital  stock  of  $6,500,000,  in  quar- 
ter-yearly payments,  the  first  to  be  paid  January  1,  1880  (see  exhibit 
at  pp.  298  and  299  of  testimony). 

3.  To  guarantee  and  pay  to  the  Metropolitan  Company,  dividends 
to  the  same  amount,  upon  an  equal  amount  of  stock,  and  at  the  same 
dates  as  specified  with  the  New  York  Company. 

4.  To  pay  also  to  each  of  said  companies  an  annual  rental  of  $10 , 000, 
in  the  aggregate  $20,000,  in  equal  semi-annual  installments  on  the 
first  day  of  January  and  July  in  each  year  during  the  terms  of  the 
respective  leases  —  that  is  for  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  years ; 
and 

5.  Said  Manhattan  Company,  as  further  consideration  for  the  said 
leases,  also  agreed  to,  and  did  subsequently  issue  to  each  of  said  other 
companies  its  bond  for  $6,500,000,  payable  on  demand  to  a  trustee 
named  in  each  bond,  for  the  stockholders  of  the  respective  companies 
"with  authority  to  the  trustees  respectively  to  use  the  same,  if  they 
"  see  fit,  in  payment  for  stock  of  the  Manhattan  Company  at  par," 
which  bonds  were  so  exchanged.    This  transaction  apparently  increased 


the  capital  stock  of  the  Manhattan  Company  (then  $2,000,000  with 
$100,000  thereof  paid  in  by  just  the  amount  of  said  bonds,  aggregat- 
ing $15,000,000). 

Thus,  by  a  stroke  of  the  pen,  is  the  burden  of  vitalizing  this  $13,- 
000,000  of  Manhattan  stock  imposed  upon  the  public  — the  public 
from  whom  the  valuable  franchises  of  these  roads  and  their  right  of 
way  through  the  streets  of  the  city  were  derived ;  derived  without 
compensation  other  than  the  stipulated  payment  of  two  per  cent  of 
earnings  into  the  city  treasury.  Here  is  an  organization,  a  railroad 
company,  having  existence  upon  paper  only  —  not  owning  or  operating 
a  rod  of  road,  never  having  set  a  post,  driven  a  spike  or  moved  a  shovel- 
full  of  dirt  —  leasing  two  contiguous  roads,  and,  by  the  leases,  giving 
these  roads  the  maximum  'net  income  which  the  law  allows,  and,,  in 
addition,  giving  thirteen  millions  of  bonds  to  these  roads,  convertible 
into  stock  ;  thirteen  millions  of  the  clearest  water  imaginable ! 

If  this  transaction  is  a  legal  one,  then  there  is  nothing  to  prevent 
the  managers  of  the  N.  Y.  O.  &  H.  R.  R.  Company  from  organizing 
themselves  into  a  railroad  corporation  under  any  name  and  with  any 
named  capital,  and  then  leasing  the  N.  Y.  Central  and  Hudson  River 
road,  and  guaranteeing  the  payment  of  all  the  bonds  and  obligations 
thereof,  and  to  its  stockholders  a  ten  per  cent  dividend,  and  issuing  to 
them  in  addition  a  hundred  millions  of  dollars,  or  any  other  sum,  in 
bonds  of  the  fiew  company,  convertible  into  stock  of  the  new  com- 
pany at  their  option. 

If  such  transactions  are  legal,  then  there  can  be  no  protection  for 
stockholders  against  stock-watering,  until  the  leasing  of  railroads  is 
carefully  and  properly  guarded.  If  the  leases  and  agreements  in  ques- 
tion can  be  sustained,  it  must  be  in  pursuance  of  some  statute  and  not 
upon  any  principle  of  law  or  public  policy.  And  the  legislature 
should,  as  speedily  as  may  be,  render  impossible  similar  transactions 
in  the  future. 

In  our  opinion  the  facts  brought  out  in  the  investigation  of  the 
affairs  of  the  New  York  elevated  railroads  illustrates  most  forcibly  the 
necessity  for  the  several  acts,  and  amendments  to  existing  statutes  re- 
commended by  us  in  our  report,  dated  January  22,  1880,  and  now 
under  consideration  by  your  honorable  body. 

"  The  New  York  Loan  and  Improvement  Company"  has  played  an 
important  part  in  affording  to  the  public  the  present  system  of  rapid 
transit.  The  last-named  company  was  organized  and  chartered  by 
chapter  689  of  the  Laws  of  1870,  as  amended  by  chapter  440,  Laws  of 
1871,  and  by  chapter  755,  Laws  of  1872. 

It  is  officered  by  substantially  the  same  gentlemen  who  control  and 
manage  these  several  companies,  and  has  a  capital  now  of  $3,000,000. 

In  the  case  of  the  Metropolitan  Elevated  Railroad  Company,  all  its 
stocks  and  bonds  were  transferred  to  the  Loan  and  Improvement  Com- 


4 


pany,  and  the  latter  in  consideration  thereof 'agreed  to,  and  did  (under 
sub-contracts  let  by  it)  build  the  road  for  the  former  company,  re- 
ceiving therefor  of  stock  of  the  Metropolitan  Company  $6,500,000, 
and  of  bonds  of  said  company,  $8,500,000.  (See  Testimony,  Mr.  Gar- 
rison, pp.  8  and  9,  and  copy  agreement,  pp.  323  to  326.)  In  addition 
to  the  stock  of  Manhattan  Company,  $6,500,000,  in  the  aggregate 
$21,500,008,  which  aggregate  amount  of  stock  and  bonds  cost  the 
Loan  and  Improvement  Company,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Mr. 
Sweet  (see  p.  28  of  his  report  annexed),  $9,639,147.69,  leaving  as  the 
"  margin"  the  difference  of  $11,860,852.31. 

The  stock  and  bonds  of  the  New  York  Elevated  Koad  are  the  same 
as  of  the  Metropolitan,  namely : 

Stock   $6,500,000 

Bonds   8,500,000 

Total  $15,000,000 

The  actual  cost  of  construction,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Mr. 
Sweet  (p.  15  of  his  report  annexed),  is  $8,719,038.26,  leaving  a  "mar- 
gin" of  $6,280,961.74;  adding  the  $6,500,000  derived  of  Manhattan 
stock,  shows  the  total  sum  of  $12,780,961.74,  outside  of  actual  con- 
struction ;  adding  now  the  above  item  of  $11,860,852.31,  we  have  the 
grand  total  of  $24,641,814.05,  which  has  not  entered  in  the  actual 
construction  of  either  of  these  roads. 

Of  this  grand  total,  which  seems  to  be  "  water,"  the  companies 
claim  that  a  considerable  portion  is  covered  by  legitimate  discounts  on 
securities,  and  by  other  proper  items  —  but  the  principal  item  being 
discount  on  bonds,  went  into  the  hands  of  the  stockholders  themselves. 
Mr.  Brewster  in  his  testimony  (pp.  69  to  77)  explains  how  bonds  were 
discounted,  and  it  is  fair?to  presume  that  no  considerable  discounts  on 
bonds  were  allowed  to  get  away  from  the  gentlemen,  who  had  all  along 
furnished,  not  only  the  brains,  but  the  money  to  carry  into  successful 
operation  these  roads. 

In  order  that  a  better  understanding  of  the  situation  may  be  had, 
your  committee  submit  the  following  figures,  etc.,  by  way  of  recapitu- 
lation : 


Metropolitan  Elevated. 


Date  of  Charter,  1872. 


Capital  stock  paid  in  

Bonds  assumed  by  Manhattan 


$6,500,000  00 
8.500,000  00 


Total  

Actual  cost  of  road 


$15,000,000  00 
9,639,147  69 


Water,  dis.  on  bonds,  etc 


$5,360,852  31 


5 

N.  Y.  Elevated  Road. 
Date  of  Charter,  December  5,  1871. 


Capital  stock  paid  in   $6,500,000  00 

Bonds  assumed  by  Manhattan   8,500,000  00 

Total   815,000,000  00 

Actual  cost  of  road   8,719,038  26 

Water,  dis.  on  bonds,  etc   $6,280,961  74 


Manhattan  Railroad  Company. 
Date   of   Charter,  December  29,  1875. 
Capital  stock   $13,000,000  00 


All  water. 

We  have  the  three  companies  capitalized  as  follows  : 

Metropolitan  Elevated   $15,000,000  00 

N.  Y.  Elevated   15,000,000  00 

Manhattan   13 , 000 , 000  00 

Total   $43,000,000  00 


Metropolitan's*  actual  cost  of  construction,  etc., 

is  found  by  Mr.  Sweet  to  be   $9,  639,  147  69 

N.  Y.  Elevated  Company's  actual  cost  is  found  by 

Mr.  Sweet  to  be   8,719,038  26 

Total  actual  cost  of  roads,  etc.,  is   $18,358,185  95 


Water,  Manhattan   $13,000,000  00 

Water,  etc.,  Metropolitan  Elevated   5,360,852  31 

Water,  etc.,  N.  Y.  Elevated   6,280,961  74 

Total  water,  etc.,  is    $24,641,814  05 

Cost   18,358,185  95 


$43,000,000  00 


Fares. 

The  rates  of  fare  charged  by  the  elevated  railroad  companies  is  fixed 
during  certain  hours  at  five  cents,  that  is,  during  the  hours  from  5:30 
to  7:30  a.  M.,  and  5  to  7  o'clock  p.  m.  ;  during  the  other  hours,  the 
rate  is  uniformly  ten  cents. 


6 


The'companiesjstate  that  the  aggregate  receipts  are  about  equally 
divided  between  the  two  rates,  about  fifty  per  cent  of  the  whole  being 
derived  from  each  rate  of  fare  ;  as  a  result  of  such  arrangement  the 
number  of  passengers  carried  at  five  cent  fares  is  very  large. 

The  original  intent  and  object  of  the  schemes  to  secure  rapid  tran- 
sit in  New  York  were  to  afford  quick  transportation  for  residents  of 
the  upper  part  of  the  island  and  Westchester  county,  from  their  homes 
to  the  business  portions  of  the  city,  at  the  lowest  possible  rates.  The 
large  and  profitable  traffic  of  the  lower  part  of  the  island  with  the  short 
haul  was  to  compensate  for  the  smaller  traffic  and  larger  haul  from 
the  upper  part  of  the  island  ;  we  believe  that  a  uniform  five  cent  fare 
will  produce  an  adequate  and  liberal  remuneration  upon  the  actual 
cost  of  construction.  Your  committee  therefore  recommend  that  the 
legislature  limit  by  proper  enactment  the  fares  chargeable  by  said  com- 
panies to  the  uniform  rate  of  five  cents. 

It  is  believed  by  your  committee  that  the  accompanying  bill  will 
prevent  the  abuses  shown  to  exist  in  relation  to  railroad  leases. 
Dated  March  1,  1880. 

A.  B.  HEPBURN, 
J.  W.  HUSTED,  ' 
HENRY  L.  DUGLTD, 
JAMES  LOW, 
J.  W.  WADSWORTH, 
GEORGE  L.  TERRY, 
W.  L.  NOYES, 
THOS.  F.  GRADY, 
CHARLES  S.  BAKER. 


An  Act  in  relation  to  leases  by  Railroad  Corporations. 

The  People  of  the  Slate  of  New  York,  represented  in  Senate  and 
Assembly,  do  enact  as  follows  : 

Section  1.  No  railroad  corporation  shall  become  the  lessee  of  any 
railroad,  unless  it  is,  at  the  time  of  becoming  a  party  to  such  lease, 
the  owner  of  a  contiguous  line  of  railroad,  actually  operated  by  such 
corporation  over  the  whole  or  a  part  of  its  length.  And  it  shall  not 
be  lawful  for  any  railroad  corporation,  being  the  lessee  of  any  railroad, 
to  issue  to  the  railroad  corporation  being  the  lessor,  or  to  the  stock- 
holders thereof,  or  to  any  person  or  persons  in  their  behalf,  any  of  its 
capital  stock,  or  any  bonds  or  other  evidence  of  indebtedness,  as  a 
consideration  for,  or  in  connection  with  such  lease. 

§  2.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 


REPORT. 


Hon.  Ch^s.  S.  Baker,  Chairman  of  Sub-committee  on  Elevated 
Roads  of  the  Committee  of  the  Assembly,  to  investigate  Railroad 
Affairs: 

Sir — Having  completed,  so  far  as  the  time  at  my  disposal  permitted, 
the  examination  of  the  affairs  and  management  of  the  elevated  roads 
in  New  York  city,  directed  by  you,  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the 
following 

REPORT. 

I  have  examined  all  the  contracts  for  the  construction  work  of  both 
the  New  York  Elevated  and  the  Metropolitan  Elevated  companies,  veri- 
fied the  agreement  therewith  of  the  payments  charged  for  the  work 
done  under  them,  and  by  a  protracted  examination  of  the  construction 
books  and  vouchers,  have  tested  the  correctness  of  the  pro  forma 
statements  furnished  me  by  the  officers  of  the  respective  companies 
purporting  to  show  the  total  cost  of  constructing  and  equipping 
their  lines. 

I  have  also  made  a  somewhat  extended  investigation  of  the  struc- 
tures from  the  working  drawings,  and  the  work  itself,  to  determine  the 
measure  of  security  afforded  by  the  distribution  of  materials  and  the 
connections  adopted  with  the  loads  under  which  these  structures  are 
actually  worked,  and  have  given  some  attention  to  the  details  of  their 
operation,  both  as  to  the  method  and  cost,  believing  accurate  informa- 
,  tion  on  all  these  points  to  be  essential  to  the  formation  of  just  conclusions 
.as  to  the  value  of  the  service  rendered  and  the  measure  of  security  and 
comfort  afforded  by  these  companies  to  the  public. 

The  New  York  Elevated  Railroad  Co. 

This  company  is  the  successor  of  the  "  West  Side  and  Yonkers 
Patent  Railway  Company,"  which  made  the  first  attempt  to  realize 
rapid  transit  in  New  York  by  an  elevated  road. 

The  latter  company  was  incorporated  under  the  Elevated  Railway 
Act  of  1SGG,  and  was  authorized  to  construct  an  elevated  road  to  be 
borne  on  iron  columns  placed  on  the  curb  lines,  and  to  be  operated 
by  stationary  engines  transmitting  power  to  the  cars  by  ropes  or  cables. 


a 


Amendatory  statutes  passed  in  1867  and  1868  authorized  the  con- 
struction by  this  company  of  an  experimental  section  half  a^mile  long 
on  Greenwich  street ;  provided  for  commissioners  empowered  to  ex- 
amine and  decide  upon  the  acceptability  of  the  experimental  section, 
and  fixed  (in  the  event  of  the  experimental  section  being  approved  and 
accepted  by  the  commissioners)  the  route  for  the  road  from  Battery  place 
along  Greenwich  street  to  Ninth  avenue,  and  along  Ninth  avenue  or 
streets  west  of  Ninth  avenue  to  the  Harlem  river.  It  further  em- 
powered the  commissioners  to  permit  a  change  from  stationary  to  loco- 
motive power,  if  on  due  investigation  they  found  it  expedient. 

The  experimental  section  of  half  a  mile  'on  the  south  end  of  Green- 
wich street  was  completed  and  accepted  by  the  commissioners  in  1869, 
and  a  single  track  line  was  completed  from  Battery  place  on  Green- 
wich street  and  Ninth  avenue  to  30th  street  in  1870. 

The  method  of  operating  by  stationary  power  proved  a  failure,  and 
the  road  remained  quite  idle  until  the  spring  of  1871,  when  the  fail- 
ing enterprise  buried  under  two  millions  of  debt,  was  taken  possession 
of  by  the  bondholders. 

In  the  meantime  the  commissioners  created  by  the  charter  had 
authorized  the  use  of  locomotive  power  for  its  operation,  and  from  the 
20th  of  April,  1871,  when  the  trustee  for  these  bondholders  began  to 
run  a  dummy  engine  and  three  cars  upon  it,  this  line  has  been  in  un- 
interrupted and  successful  operation. 

During  the  summer  of  1871,  the  three  mortgages  on  this  road  were 
foreclosed,  the  trustees  under  them  bidding  the  property  in  for  the 
bondholders. 

In  October  of  the  same  year  The  New  York  Elevated  Railroad  Co.  was 
organized  under  the  general  railroad  law  by  the  principal  bondholders 
under  the  foreclosed  mortgages. 

As  the  route  of  this  new  company,  they  named  the  route  of  the 
West  Side  and  Yonkers,  and  two  others  from  Battery  place  to  Putnam 
county,  and  about  thirty  across  New  York  and  Westchester  counties, 
and  immediately  acquired  all  the  franchises  and  property  of  that 
company  by  the  issue  of  New  York  Elevated  stock  to  the  amount  of 
$801,825. 

This  purchase  constitutes  the  first  item  in  the  New  York  Elevated 
Company's  construction  account. 

It  is  impossible  now  to  determine  the  actual  cost  of  the  old  st  ruc- 
ture, but  it  probably  exceeded  the  amount  at  which  it  is  charged  in 
the  accounts  of  the  new  company.  From  the  time  of  acquiring  this 
property  until  1875,  some  improvements  were  made  in  the  way  of 
strengthening  the  structure,  and  increasing  station  accommodations, 
and  adding  a  few  engines  and  cars  to  the  equipment,  and  about  a 


9 


fourth  of  a  mile  to  the  main  track,  and  about  half  a  mile  to  the 
turnouts. 

All  the  structure  thus  far  built  proved  too  light  and  flexible  for  the 
present  service,  and  is  now  being  taken  down  and  removed,  and  the 
rolling  stock  used  upon  it  discarded. 

No  other  extension  of  their  road  was  undertaken  by  this  company 
until  after  the  passage  of  the  act  of  1875,  confirming  this  company 
in  the  possession  of  the  franchises  of  the  West  Side  and  Yonkers  Ky. 
Co.,  giving  wider  latitude  as  to  their  style  of  construction  and  extend- 
ing the  time  to  construct  until  1880,  and  of  the  passage  of  the  Rapid 
Transit  Act  of  1875,  and  of  the  proceedings  of  the  commission  ap- 
pointed under  it.  The  latter  act  and  the  proceedings  under  it  insured 
a  certain  and  rapid  solution  of  the  quick  transit  question  in  New 
York,  by  fixing  so  small  a  number  of  routes  as  to  make  them  valuable, 
and  by  making  the  enjoyment  of  these  routes  by  the  companies  upon 
which  they  were  conferred,  dependent  upon  immediate  development. 

They  created  for  both  the  Metropolitan  and  the  New  York  Ele- 
vated Companies  the  possibility  of  the  success  which  they  have  now 
realized. 

Under  the  section  of  the  act  empowering  the  commissioners 
to  provide  all  regulations  as  to  plans  of  constructing,  and  mode  of 
operating  any  rapid  transit  line,  covered  by  an  unexpired  charter, 
they  cured  the  vital  defect  in  the  Metropolitan  act  of  incorporation 
by  which  it  was  committed  to  an  impracticable  mode  of  construction, 
and  under  the  same  section  empowering  them  to  locate  connecting 
routes  for  any  existing  elevated  road,  they  vastly  enhanced  the  value 
of  the  New  York  Elevated  franchise  by  conferring  upon  it  the  route 
from  Battery  place  to  South  Ferry,  and  from  South  Ferry  by  the  way 
of  Pearl  street,  the  Bowery  and  Third  avenue  to  the  Harlem  river,  with 
branches  to  all  the  railroad  depots  and  ferries. 

'  With  this  improved  phase  of  its  affairs,  this  company  rapidly  for- 
warded the  work  of  construction,  opening  the  extension  of  the  Ninth 
avenue  to  Fifty-ninth  street  early  in  1876,  the  same  line  from  Battery 
place  to  South  Ferry,  in  April,  1877,  and  the  East  Side  Line  from  South 
Ferry  via  Pearl  street,  the  Bowery  and  Third  avenue  to  Forty-second 
street,  in  August,  1878,  and  to  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-ninth  street 
in  December,  1878. 

During  1879  extensive  shops  were  built  at  Ninety-eighth  street  and 
Third  avenue,  and  a  branch  from  Third  avenue  to  Thirty-fourth  street 
ferry.  Many  new  stations  have  been  built,  and  nearly  all  the  old 
ones  enlarged  and  improved,  and  a  large  amount  of  work  done  in 
rebuilding  the  Ninth  avenue  line,  and  extending  the  Chatham  Square 
branch. 


10 


In  May,  1879,  this  company  joined  the  Metropolitan  Elevated 
Company,  in  making  a  contract  with  the  Manhattan  Railway  Com- 
pany, (which* was  incorporated  by  the  rapid  transit  commissioners  in 
1875,  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  and  operating  an  elevated  road 
on  the  routes  conferred  upon  the  New  York  Elevated  aud  Metropolitan 
companies,  in  the  event  of  default  of  the  first-named  companies  to 
construct  within  the  specified  time)  by  which  they  leased  their  roads  to 
the  Manhattan  Company. 

This  lease  was  to  take  effect  as  of  the  31st  of  January,  1879,  and  it 
stipulated  that  the  Manhattan  Company  should  assume  all  the  charges 
for  constructing  and  equipping  the  New  York  Elevated  road  after  that 
date,  and  that  for  the  purpose  of  providing  for  the  completion  of 
such  construction  and  equipment,  the  New  York  Elevated  should 
pay  to  the  Manhattan  Company  the  fixed  sum  of  $3,000,000. 

The  New  York  Elevated  Company  continued  the  construction  work 
for  the  Manhattan  Company  from  January  31st,  until  September  30th, 
1879,  during  which  time  they  expended  on  account  of  the  latter  com- 
pany, the  sum  of  $1,583,753.73,  of  the  above  $3,000,000  ;  since  Sep- 
tember 30th,  Manhattan  Company  have  prosecuted  construction  work 
for  themselves. 

Cost  of  Construction. 

As  stated  above,  the  old  part  of  this  road  from  Battery  place  to 
Thirtieth  street  was  acquired  by  purchase. 

The  extensions  of  the  West  Side  line,  to  the  South  Ferry  and  to 
Fifty-ninth  street,  were  paid  for  partly  in  cash,  and  partly  in  bonds 
and  stocks,  but  all  are  charged  in  the  construction  account  at  cost  in 
securities ;  i.  e.,  construction  work,  or  material  paid  for  in  cash,  is 
charged  with  the  discount  suffered  in  the  negotiation  of  the  securities 
to  provide  for  its  payment.  All  the  work  done  since  September,  1877, 
has  been  by  contract  or  day's  labor  for  cash  and  so  entered  in  the  conr 
struction  accounts ;  all  the  work  done  during  the  latter  period,  con- 
sisting of  building  the  east  line,  from  South  Ferry  to  One  Hun- 
dred and  Twenty-ninth  street,  building  an  additional  track  most  of 
the  way  from  South  Ferry  to  Fifty-ninth  street,  on  the  West  Side  line, 
and  extending  the  latter  line  from  Fifty-ninth  to  Eighty-third  street, 
has  been  done  at  very  low  prices,  the  average  cost  of  the  iron  structure 
manufactured  and  erected  averaging  less  than  3-f  cents  per  pound. 
The  following  statement,  derived  from  the  company's  books,  shows 
the  cost  of  this  road  to  September  30th,  1879  : 


11 


Statement  No.  1. 

Pro  forma  statement  of  cost  of  building  and  equipping  the  rail- 
roads of  this  company,  together  with  shops  and  machinery,  real  estate, 
tools,  furniture,  fixtures,  etc.,  up  to  September  30th,  1879: 


Foundations   $1,559,925  73 

Structure   4,239,020  71 

Track  superstructure   922,574  06 

Stations   638,448  77 

Shops  and  machinery   298,661  06 

Real  estate   226,431  95 

292  cars   700,170  64 

8  service  cars  ,   3,200  00 

131  engines   476,926  80 

Tools,  furniture  and  fixtures   27,588  32 


$9,092,948  04 


This  statement  includes  the  sum  of  $2,674,430.60  charged  for  the 
old  "Ninth  avenue  road  and  its  extensions  prior  to  October  1st,  1877, 
none  of  which  is  stated  at  actual  cost,  and  the  further  sum  of  6521,- 
589.87  made  up  of  miscellaneous  items,  some  of  which  do  not  appear 
to  be  legitimafely  chargeable  to  construction.  The  following  state- 
ment gives  the  items  of  which  these  two  sums  are  made  up : 

Statement  No.  2. 

Showing  distribution  of  expenditures  for  old  Ninth  avenue  road  and 
its  extensions  prior  to  October  1st,  1877,  and  above  items  miscella- 
neous expenses,  both  beiag  distributed  pro  rata  among  the  first  four 
items  of  statement  No.  1 : 

For  purchase  of  old  road   $801,825  00 

Foundations   457,272  54 

Structure   1,097,454  10 

Track  superstructure   274,363  53 

For  stations   43,515  43 

 $2,674,430  60 

Miscellaneous  Items. 

Legal  expenses   $130,739  97 

Engineering   114,544  45 

Interest   210,424  09 

Material  on  hand   39,561  91 


12 


General  construction   $25,538  12 

Sundries   781  83 

  $521,589  87 


$3,196,020  47 


I  also  present  a  table  (Table  No.  1),  showing  the  fiscal  condition  of 
this  company  and  the  progress  of  its  construction,  which  furnishes  a 
statistical  history  of  the  enterprise,  and  what  amount  of  construc- 
tion is  represented  by  this  charge  of  $2,674,430.60. 

Table  No.  1, 

This  table  shows  that  on  the  1st  of  October,  1872,  nearly  a  year 
after  the  organization  of  this  company,  and  its  purchase  of  the  West 
Side  and  Yonkers  road,  the  amount  of  capital  paid  in  was  $350,000. 
This,  according  to  Mr.  Cowing's  testimony,  represents  the  purchase  of 
the  old  road,  and  $70,000  in  money,  used  in  improving  the  property, 
which  fixes  the  price  of  the  old  road  at  $280,000.  The  sum  of  $524,- 
000,  one-half  in  bonds  and  one-half  in  stock,  appears  by  Mr.  Cowing's 
testimony  to  have  been  issued  for  the  building  ef  the  road  from  Battery 
place  to  South  Ferry. 

This  was  a  three-track  ro  ad,  a  trifle  over  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in 
length,  and  its  actual  cost  sh  ould  not  exceed  $100,000. 

The  rest  of  the  work  covered  by  this  charge  (consisting  of  the  im- 
provements made  upon  the  old  line  and  its  extension  to  Fifty-ninth 
street),  was  paid  for  in  cash  provided  by  issues  of  bonds  sold  at  a 
discount  of  40  percent,  making  the  cash  cost  of  this  portion  of  the  work 
about  $815,000,  and  the  whole  cost  of  the  property,  exclusive  of  equip- 
ment, to  October  1st,  1877,  $1,265,000.00. 

Of  the  miscellaneous  items  in  statement  No.  2,  those  for  interest 
($210,424.09),  and  for  materials  on  hand,  $39,561.91,  are  not  legiti- 
mately chargeable  to  construction,  for  obvious  reasons;  the  former 
being  interest  on  the  constructive  indebtedness  created  by  issuing 
bonds  at  87-J-  per  cent  discount  to  stockholders,  and  the  latter  charge- 
able to  projected  construction,  not  covered  by  this  statement. 

Of  the  item  of  $130,739. 97  for  legal  expenses  it  is  impossible  to  de- 
termine how  much  was  incurred  in  the  solution  of  legal  difficulties 
attending  the  construction  of  the  road,  and  how  much  for  the  pro- 
tection of  stockholders.  The  other  miscellaneous  items  are  properly 
charged. 

The  following  statement  (No.  3)  shows  the  cost  of  the  construction 
work  performed  from  October  1st,  1877,  to  October  1st,  1879,  and  of  the 


13 


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14 


whole  equipment,  arranged  as  in  statement  No.  1,  except 'that  the 
miscellaneous  expenditures  are  separately  stated,  and  also  the  approxi- 
mate cost  of  the  old  road  and  its  improvements  and  extensions  prior 
to  October  1st,  187?  : 


Statement  No.  3. 
Cost  of  construction  performed  October,  1877,  to  October,  1879  : 

3867  foundation    $831,941  86 

11.3  miles  iron  structure   2,382,388  38 

"        track  superstructure   488,741  51 

49  stations   460,877  05 

Shop  and  machinery   298,661  06 

Eeal  estate  .   226,431  95 

131  engines   476,926  80 

292  cars   700,170  64 

8  service  cars   3,200  00 

Tools,  furniture  and  fixtures   27,588  32 

Engineering   114,544  45 

General  construction   25,538  12 

Sundries   781  83 

 $6,037,791  97 

Expended  prior  to  October  1st,  1877: 

Cost  of  old  road  and  improvements  in 

1872    $350,000  00 

Extensions  and  improvements,  1872  to 

1877    815,000  00 

Extension  from  Battery  place  to  South 

Ferry   100,000  00 

  1,265,000  00 


Total  cost   $7,302,791  97 

To  complete  the  construction  and  equipment  of  these  lines,  this 
company  have  paid  to  the  Manhattan  Company  under  the  contract 
heretofore  described  $1,583,753.73  disbursed  for  construction,  between 
January  31st  and  September  30,  1879,  which  is  included  in  the  above 
statement  of  total  cost,  and  the  further  sum  of  $1,416,246.27  for  com- 
pleting the  construction  and  equipment,  the  two  making  up  the  stipu- 
lated payment  of  $3,000,000. 

The  aggregate  cash  cost  to  the  New  York  Elevated  of  its  roads 
completed  may  therefore  be  stated  as  follows : 


15 


Cost  prior  to  Sept.  30,  '79   $7,302,791  97 

Paid  Manhattan  Company  for  completing  construc- 
tion and  equipment   1,416,246  27 

Total  $8,719,038  26 


The  following  estimate  of  Mr.  Katte,  the  chief  engineer  of  the  New 
York  Elevated  Railroad,  shows  that  the  allowance  to  the  Manhattan 
Company  for  completing  this  road  is  a  liberal  one. 

New  York,  Dec.  24,  1879. 

E.  Sweet,  Jr.,  Esq. : 

Dear  Sir — Herewith  please  find  approximate  data  as  per  your 


request  of  20th  inst.  : 

Iron  superstructure   $290,650  00 

Station,  etc.,  tank,  switch,  cabins   555,769  00 

Foundations   24,200  00 

Track,  etc   93,830  00 

Shops,  etc.,  coal  water  stations   67,750  00 

Sundries   39,150  00 


Total    $1,071,349  00 


The  above  amounts  include  all  work  now  contemplated  and  under 
contract,  required  to  finish  the  Ninth  and  Third  avenue  and  Green- 
wich street  lines,  "  City  Hall,"  and  "  Thirty-fourth  street  "  branches, 

Respectfully  yours, 

WALTER  KATTE, 
Ch  ief  Engineer. 

This  would  indicate  a  probable  surplus  in  the  hands  of  the  Man- 
hattan Company  after  completion  of  $344,897.27,  and  a  total  cost  for 
the  present  line  of  the  New  York  Elevated  Road  completed,  of  $8,374,- 
140.97. 

The  Structures. 

The  general  type  of  road  structure  adopted  by  this  company  consists 
of  longitudinal  trusses  built  of  wrought-angle  irons  3  1-2  ft.  in  height 
and  from  44  to  57  it.  in  length,  placed  one  under  each  line  of  rails 
and  borne  upon  wrought-iron  columns  about  15  inches  square  at  the 
base,  and  spread  laterally  at  the  top  to  receive  the  road  trusses. 

These  columns  are  built  of  two  channel  bars,  trussed  together  by 
triangular  systems  of  flat  bars  riveted  to  their  flanges. 


About  three-fourths  of  these  columns  are  arranged  in  pairs  about 
twenty  feet  apart,  equi-distanfc  from  the  center  line  of  the  street,  and 
connected  at  the  top  by  transverse  girders.  The  remainder  are  placed 
on  the  curb-line  without  lateral  support,  being  dependent  for  lateral 
stability  upon  their  foundation  connections. 

The  most  of  the  transverse  connections  are  made  by  arched  plate 
girders,  the  remainder  being  straight  triangular  trusses.  The  only 
modification  in  this  general  type  is  the  substitution  of  plate  and  angle 
girders  for  triangular  trusses,  on  about  a  mile  and  one-half  of  single 
track  on  the  West  Side  line. 

The  standard  foundation  consists  of  a  block  of  brick  masonry,  six 
feet  squared  at  the  base,  four  feet  square  on  top,  and  four  feet  high- 
placed  on  two  flat  stones  six  inches  thick,  and  about  four  feet  square, 
which  are  embedded  in  concrete,  with  their  upper  surfaces  six  feet 
below  the  surface  of  the  street. 

The  brick  masonry  is  surmounted  by  a  cast-iron  base  forty  inches 
square  at  the  bottom,  and  twenty-eight  inches  high,  cored  out  to  re 
ceive  the  channel  bars  of  the  columns,  and  anchored  through  the 
masonry  by  four  two-inch  bolts. 

Into  these  cores  the  columns  are  fitted  with  water-tight  joints,  and 
fastened  by  six  steel  keys,  one  and  a  half  inch  in  diameter.  Almost  infi- 
nite modifications  of  this  standard  type  have  been  required,  on  account 
of  interference  with  the  sewer,  water  and  gas  systems  of  the  city  — 
private  constructions  under  the  streets  and  of  yielding  materials.  All 
these  difficulties  appear  by  the  detailed  foundation  plans  to  have  been 
met  and  overcome  skillfully  and  thoroughly. 

The  floor  system  consists  of  five-inch  by  six-inch  yellow  pine  ties, 
seven  and  three-fourths  feet  long,  laid  upon  the  upper  flanges  of  the 
trusses,  with  four  longitudinal  stringers  of  yellow  pine,  of  5x8  inch 
section  placed  one  on  each  side  of  each  line  of  rails,  the  whole  clamped 
to  the  upper  flanges  of  the  truss  by  clip  bolts  passing  through  both 
stringers  and  ties.  The  stringers  are  spliced  and  bolted  together, 
rendering  the  floor  system  continuous.  This  arrangement  of  the 
floor  system,  besides  its  primary  office  of  lessening  the  danger  of 
derailment,  diminishes  by  its  elasticity  the  resilient  effect  upon  the 
trusses  of  the  moving  load,  and  by  its  continuity  relieves  the  columns 
in  a  great  measure  from  the  forces  transferred  to  the  structure  in 
stopping  and  starting  trains. 

The  workmanship  of  these  structures  bears  evidence  of  reason- 
able care  and  skill.  The  longitudinal  girders,  appear  to  have 
been  designed  to  carry,  in  addition  to  their  own  weight,  a  uniform 
moving  load  of  1,500  lbs.  per  linear  foot  of  single  track,  without 
producing  a  greater  stress  in  the  chords  than  8,000  lbs.  per  square 


17 


inch,  in  the  web  of  5,000  lbs.  or  in  the  rivets  G,000  lbs.  per  square  inch, 
and  without  a  greater  deflection  than  y-gVs"  °f  their  length. 

The  trains  of  the  New  York  Elevated,  drawn  by  the  heaviest  loco- 
motives of  that  company,  though  they  do  not  bring  upon  these  struc- 
tures a  greater  average  weight  than  1,500  lbs.  per  foot  they  so  con- 
centrate their  weight,  as  to  produce  considerably  higher  strains  in 
the  web,  the  rivets,  and  the  upper  chord  of  the  longitudinal 
girders.  The  maximum  of  these  strains,  however,  in  the  case  of  all 
the  types  of  which  drawings  have  been  furnished  me,  fall  just 
within  the  limits  prescribed  by  the  rapid  transit  commission,  viz.: 
9,000  lbs.  per  sq.  inch  in  tension  and  compression,  and  7,500  lbs.  per 
sq.  inch,  for  shearing  stress,  except  in  the  riveted  connections  near 
the  end. 

The  vertical  shear  on  these  rivets,  on  the  assumption  that  the  strains 
are  axial,  and  neglecting  the  effect  of  transverse  loading  of  the  upper 
chord  between  panel  points,  approach  within  -4  or  5  per  cent  of  this 
limit.  The  exigencies  of  simple  construction  make  the  riveted  web 
joints  extend  one-fourth  of  a  panel  length,  which  with  the  transverse 
action  of  the  inter-panel  load  develop  moments  of  flexure,  greatly 
increasing  the  stress  on  the  rivets. 

Some  portion  of  these  structures,  are  the  joint  property  of 
the  New  York  and  the  Metropolitan  Companies.  The  locomotives 
of  the  latter  company  are  considerably  heavier  than  those  of  the  former. 
The  maximum  upper  chord  and  rivet  stress  produced  by  the  heaviest 
Metropolitan  trams  in  the  longitudinal  girders  of  this  joint  structure, 
exceed  those  permitted  by  the  above  requirements  of  the  commission 
nearly  ten  per  cent. 

This  duty  is  not  severe  enough  to  arouse  apprehensions  of  immediate 
danger,  but  it  has  not  the  sanction  of  high  authority,  or  good  usage 
under  similar  conditions  of  small  dead  weight  and  suddenly  applied 
moving  load.  There  probably  do  not  exist  iron  railway  viaducts  so 
uninterruptedly  worked  as  these. 

Their  spans  and  consequent  static  loads  and  mass  of  individual 
members  are  small,  intensifying  the  resilient  effect  of  the  moving 
load — ail  elements  that  point  to  perfect  connections  and  small  unit 
strains  as  the    essential   conditions    of   security  and  permanence. 

The  design  and  distribution  of  materials  for  the  transverse  girders 
and  of  the  laterally  supported  columns,  appear  to  fulfill  these  condi- 
tions. There  seems  to  me  an  element  of  insecurity  in  the  single- 
column  structure  of  this  road,  especially  on  those  portions  built  on 
curves  of  short  radius.  Their  safe  moment  of  resistance  to  lateral 
motion  is  exceeded  by  a  horizontal  force  of  less  than  10,000  lbs. 
applied  25  feet  from  the  base,  while  a  sudden  shock  of  small  intensity 


18 


would  threaten  their  stability,  owing  to  the  low  modulus  of  fragility 
of  their  cast-iron  bases. 

In  the  ordinary  operation  of  the  road,  the  continuity  of  the  floor 
system  affords  ample  security,  but  derailment  or  other  serious  accident 
on  a  curve  would  be  much  more  dangerous  on  the  single  than  on  the 
double  column. 

The  track  superstructure  is  incomplete.  The  frequency  with  which 
trains  follow  one  another  make  it  impossible  for  a  man  to  pass  from 
one  station  to  the  next  in  the  interval  between  trains,  and  in  the 
present  condition  of  the  superstructure,  a  man  on  the  track  must,  on 
the  passage  of  a  train,  step  out  upon  a  narrow  iron  beam,  often  cov- 
ered with  snow  or  ice,  drop  down  between  'the  ties  or  be  run  over. 

Oftentimes  the  proper  inspection  and  needed  repair  of  the  tracks 
must  be  omitted  or  life  hazarded,  and  track  inspection  and  repair  is  at 
all  times  dangerous.  A  moderate  expenditure  would  provide  suitable 
railed  foot-ways  along  these  tracks. 

Stations. 

The  stations  are,  as  far  as  practicable,  of  iron.  They  are  artistically 
designed  and  well  and  substantially  built. 

I  am  convinced,  however,  that  the  security  of  the  public  requires 
railings  in  front  of  the  platforms,  with  gates  for  passage  to  and  from 
trains.  A  glance  at  the  statistics  of  accidents  on  this  road  shows  that 
the  want  of  these  safeguards  has  already  cost  several  human  lives, 
and  the  occurrence  of  a  panic  on  a  crowded  ^platform  is  liable  at  any 
moment  to  precipitate  a  lamentable  catastrophe. 

Shops. 

This  company  have  built  extensive  shops  at  Ninety-eighth  street  and 
Third  avenue, fitted  with  all  the  tools  and  appliances  likely  to  be  required 
for  the  repair  and  maintenance  of  all  the  equipment  of  both  roads. 
They  are  unfortunately  located,  being  on  a  steep  grade,  and  too  remote 
from  the  northern  terminus,  to  which  all  the  conditions  of  the  case 
point  as  the  proper  place  for  making  up,  supplying  and  dispatching 
trains.  The  temporary  use  of  the  end  of  the  track,  as  a  terminus 
without  terminal  facilities  with  its  attendant  car  cleaning,  etc., 
doubtless  gives  considerable  annoyance  to  property  owners  at  Harlem. 

Equipment. 

The  equipment  consists  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-one  engines 
varying  from  23,200  lbs.  to  38,000  lbs.  in  weight,  and  two  hundred  and 
ninety-two  cars  of  which  thirty-nine  are  the  discarded  coaches  of 
the  old  9th  avenue  line,  and  the  rest  are  eight  wheeled  cars,  eight 


19 


feet  wide  and  thirty-eight  feet  long,  with  longitudinal  seats  accom- 
modating forty-six  passengers. 

The  locomotives  are  effective  and  well  built  machines,  but  the  cars 
are  too  narrow  and  indicate  that  economy,  rather  than  the  comfort  of 
passengers  were  consulted  in  their  construction. 

The  best  known  means  have  probably  been  applied  for  arresting 
sparks,  but  there  are  two  annoyances  attending  the  movement  of 
trains  that  are  avoidable,  they  are  the  noise  of  exhaust  steam  which 
can  be  muffled,  and  the  drippings  of  condensation  which  can  readily 
be  collected. 

Characteristics  of  the  Eoad. 
The  length  of  the  road,  converting  its  proportion  of  the  joint  lines 
into  equivalent  double  track,  is  14.57 miles.  There  are  no  curves  on 
the  9th  avenue  line  of  less  than  400  feet  radius,  except  at  the  South 
Ferry  terminus,  nor  any  of  less  radius  than  300  feet  on  the  3d  avenue 
line  except  at  that  terminus  and  at  Coenties'  slip,  where  there  is  a 
reversed  curve  of  125  feet  radius.  The  grades  of  the  9th  avenue  line 
nowhere  exceed  52  feet  per  mile,  except  between  43d  street  and  58th 
street,  where  the  steepest  grade  is  103  feet  per  mile.  On  the  3d  avenue 
line  there  are  four  summits  overcome  by  grades  varying  from  62  to 
105  feet  per  m>le. 

The  Metropolitan  Elevated  Road. 

Tins  road  was  incorporated  under  the  name  of  the  "  Gilbert  Ele- 
vated Railway  Company"  by  an  act  of  the  State  legislature  passed  in 
eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-two  (the  name  having  been  changed  to 
the  ''  Metropolitan  Elevated  Railway  Company"  by  an  order  of  court 
dated  June  6th,  1878). 

The  corporation  was  empowered  to  construct  and  operate  an  elevated 
railway  in  such  streets  of  New  York  as  should  be  designated  by  a  com- 
mission named  in  the  bill  on  the  plan  known  as  the  "  Gilbert  Improved 
Elevated  Railway."  This  plan  provided  for  tubular  roadways  suspended 
above  the  street  by  gothic  arches  springing  from  the  curb  lines  through 
which  cars  were  to  be  propelled  by  atmospheric  or  other  motive  power. 
The  company  were  to  complete  their  road  to  Forty-second  street  in  a 
year  and  a  half,  to  Eighty-sixth  street  in  two  years  and  a  half,  and  to  the 
Harlem  river  in  thre^  years.  An  amendatory  act  in  1873  prohibited  the 
company  from  using  any  part  of  Broadway  south  of  Thirty-fourth  street, 
and  another  in  1874  confirmed  the  location  of  the  route  by  the 
commissioners,  and  extended  the  time  for  construction  about  three 
years.  The  general  conviction  that  the  plans  to  which  the  company 
was  committed  by  its  charter  were  extravagantly  expensive  if  not  im- 


20 


practicable,  together  with  the  financial  depression  of  the  country,  ren- 
dered abortive  every  effort  to  set  this  enterprise  in  motion  until  the 
commissioners  appointed  by  the  mayor  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of 
the  Eapid  Transit  law  of  1875,  under  the  powers  conferred  upon  them 
by  that  act,  confirmed  this  company  in  possession  of  its  valuable 
route,  and  permitted  it  to  adopt  simple  and  economical  plans  of 
construction.  The  route  thus  confirmed  to  them  in  September,  1875, 
began  at  King's  bridge  on  the  Harlem  river,  thence  by  Eiver  street, 
Eighth  avenue,  One  Hundred  and  Tenth  street,  Ninth  avenue,  Fifty- 
third  street,  Sixth  avenue,  Amity  street,  South  Fifth  avenue,  West 
Broadway,  College  Place,  Murray  street,  Church  street  and  New  Church 
street  to  Morris  street,  and  thence  through  private  property  and  Bow- 
ling Green  to  Beaver  street,  thence  by  Beaver  and  Pearl  streets,  the 
New  Bowery,  Division  street,  Allen  street,  First  avenue,  Twenty- 
third  street,  Second  avenue  and  River  street,  to  the  first  named  line  at 
the  corner  of  River  street  and  Eighth  avenue  ;  also  a  connecting  line 
along  Chambers  street  and  Chatham  street  and  a  branch  on  Sixth 
avenue  from  Fifty-third  street  to  Fifty-ninth  street.  These  conces- 
sions and  this  valuable  route  placed  the  enterprise  in  an  enviable  posi- 
tion, and  its  promoters  immediately  set  about  devising  ways  and 
means  for  developing  it.  The  instrument  employed  for  this  purpose 
was  the  New  York  Loan  and  Improvement  Company,  incorporated  by 
a  statute  of  1870,  and  empowered  to  transact  banking,  contracting 
and  brokerage  business.  Its  ample  powers  had,  however,  lain  dor- 
mant from  its  organization  in  1871  until  invoked  by  the  promoters  of 
this  enterprise  in  1876.  A  contract  was  made  March  13th,  1S7G,  be- 
tween the  Gilbert  Elevated  Railway  Company  and  the  Loan  and  Im- 
provement Company,  by  which  the  latter  agreed  to  completely  con- 
struct and  equip  the  road  covered  by  the  charter  of  the  former 
company  in  conformity  with  the  requirements  of  the  Rapid  Transit 
commission  :  for  $500,000  in  the  stock,  $750,000  in  the  first  mortgage 
bonds,  and  $750,000  in  the  second  mortgage  bonds  of  the  railway 
company  for  each  completed  mile  of  double  tracked  road. 

The  contract  specifically  provided  for  building  on  these  conditions 
the  section  of  the  road  from  Morris  street  to  Fifty-ninth  street,  via 
Sixth  avenue,  but  reserved  to  the  Loan  and  Improvement  Company 
the  right  of  cancellation  after  completing  that  section.  It  also  lim- 
ited the  amount  of  the  mortgages  so  as  to  exactly  suffice  for  the  pay- 
ments to  the  Loan  and  Improvement  Company  and  prohibited  any 
increase  of  the  stock  of  the  railway  company  until  by  the  operation 
of  the  contract  the  former  company  should  obtain  the  control  of  the 
railway  organization. 

Soon  after  the  execution  of  this  contract  the  Loan  and  Improvement 


Company  began  the  work  of  construction  by  sub-letting  to  the 
Edgemoor  Iron  Company  building  of  the  permanent  way  of  the 
section  from  Morris  street  to  Fifty-ninth  street.  Work  was  begun 
under  this  contract  in  the  spring  of  1876,  but  was  interrupted  by 
legal  proceedings  begun  by  property  owners  and  surface  railroad 
companies,  which  culminated  in  an  injunction,  which  effected  a  can- 
cellation of  the  Edgemoor  contract  and  a  stoppage  of  all  construction 
work  until  the  decision  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  in  November,  1877, 
removed  the  injunction  and  permitted  the  work  to  proceed. 

The  time  remaining  to  complete  the  first  section  of  the  road,  in 
accordance  with  the  requirements  of  the  Rapid  Transit  Commission- 
ers, being  very  short,  the  Loan  and  Improvement  Company  immedi- 
ately divided  the  contracts  for  construction  between  the  Edgemoor 
Iron  Company,  the  Keystone  Bridge  Company  and  Clark,  Reeves  & 
Company,  who  completed  the  double  tracked  structure  from  Morris 
street  to  Fifty-ninth  street  in  April,  1878.  Stations  and  equipment 
were  soon  after  provided  and  this  section  of  the  road  went  into  opera- 
tion June  6,  1878.  Under  sub-contracts  with  the  Edgemoor  Iron 
Company,  Messrs.  Clark,  Reeves  &  Company,  and  others,  the  Loan  and 
Improvement  Company  continued  to  actively  prosecute  the  work  of 
constructing  this  road,  until  September  30, 1879,  when  the  Manhattan 
Company  assumed  control  of  the  work  under  the  contract,  leasing 
the  New  York  and  Metropolitan  roads,  which  I  have  described.  The 
Loan  and  Improvement  Company  had  then  nearly  completed  the  west 
side  line  to  the  Harlem  river  (upon  which  trains  have  been  running  to 
One  Hundred  and  Fifty-fifth  street  several  months)  ;  the  Metropoli- 
•  tan's  share  of  the  Chatham  Square  branch,  and  constructed  the 
foundations  and  about  half  the  iron  structure  of  the  east  side  line, 
from  Division  street  via  Second  avenue  to  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- 
ninth  street.  Since  September  30th  the  Manhattan  Company  have 
prosecuted  the  work  under  the  sub-contracts  made  by  the  Loan  and 
Improvement  Company,  and  will  probably  have  the  incomplete  lines 
above  mentioned  in  operation  during  the  coming  summer. 


Cost  of  Construction. 

The  entire  work  of  constructing  these  roads  prior  to  September 
30th,  1879,  having  been  paid  for  by  the  Loan  and  Improvement  Com- 
pany, its  cost  must  be  sought  from  the  accounts  of  that  company. 
The  following  statement  (No.  4)  shows  the  balance  to  each  clasfl  ->f 
expenditures,  charged  to  construction  in  the  books  of  the  Loan  and 
Improvement  Company. 


22 


Statement  No.  4. 

Amount  expended  by  the  New  York  Loan  and  Improvement  Com- 
pany in  the  construction  of  the  Metropolitan  Elevated  Railway  up  to 
the  30th  of  September,  1879  : 

ACCOUNTS  UNDER  WHICH  PAYMENTS  WERE  MADE. 

Contingent  fund  !   $1,043  54 

Office  salaries  and  expenses   55,696  69 

Taxes  and  insurance   15,568  41 

Office  furniture   3,131  80 

Printing  and  stationery   17,809  89 

Engineering   92,269  75 

Right  of  way   3,177  36 

Tools  and  machinery   25,432  89 

Incidental  damages   9,214  70 

Legal  expenses   375,272  61 

Directors' meetings     1,435  00 

Interest,  etc   426,328  12 

Contingent  expenses                        „  •  173.107  25 

Bond  negotiation  account,  etc   415, 5Q0  00 

Noise  experiments   13,970  77 

Engineers'  equipment   1,991  12 

Equipment  locomotives  and  passenger  cars   853,392  64 

Structure   1,478,301  55 

Superstructure   251,770  70 

Stations   372,493  91 

Electric  signals   31,668  71* 

Improvement  71  Broad  way..   20,845  67 

Building  69  Greenwich  street   52,795  42 

Church  street  and  B.  G.  section   10,527  62 

Beaver  street  section     323  00 

East  side  line  ■   2.063,843  27 

East  side  survey   10,860  54 

East  side  sundries    77,992  58 

Fifty-third  street  section   241,412  56 

Ninth  avenue  section   757,974  35 

One  Hundred  and  Tenth  street  section   102,164  63 

Eighth  avenue  section   1,455,240  73 

Chambers  street  section   156  34 

Joint  Ninth  avenue  section  , . . ,   155,837  60 

Chatham  Square  joint  section   35,333  32 

Real  estate  less  bond  and  mortgages   693,832  83 

♦ 


23 


Experimental  span   $8,773  44 

(Pullman's  P.  C.  Co.)  Equipment   102,635  42 

(J.  F.  Navarro)  office  salary  and  expenses   105,000  00 

Thos.  A.  Edison   500  00 

Mills  &  Ambrose   46,334  43 

East  side  lumber   69,456  62 

West  side  lumber   62,200  37 

Foundation  stone  E.  &  W   6,344  26 

Thirty-fourth  street  offices   6,194  11 

Harlem  river  survey   3,824  11 

Track  furniture  H."  Ent   32,264  03 

Sundry  reserve  account.   88,539  94 


Total   $10,829,790  50 


An  intelligent  discussion  of  this  account  requires  a  classification  of 
its  items.  This,  by  the  aid  of  the  books  and  vouchers  of  the  Loan  and 
Improvement  company,  I  have  endeavered  to  do,  treating  separately 
the  portion  of  the  west  side  line  south  of  Eighty-third  street  and  the 
Chatham  square  branch,  which  were  built  under  the  contract  of  the 
Loan  and  Improvement  company.  The  rest  of  the  construction  work 
was  done  on#account  of  the  Manhattan  company  under  the  agree- 
ment before  referred  to,  and  is  treated  of  as  the  "  incomplete  lines," 
in  statement  Nos.  5  and  6. 

I  have  classified  the  expenditures  on  each  of  these  subdivisions  as 
far  as  is  possible  by  my  data,  to  foundations,  road  structure,  track 
superstructure,  stations,  real  estate  and  equipment,  and  have  added 
such  miscellaneous  items  of  the  account  as  can  not  readily  be  distribu- 
ted into  these  classifications,  but  seem  fairly  chargeable  to  the  section 
they  are  assigned  to. 


Statement  No.  5. 
Cost  of  west  side  Metropolitan  line  from  Morris  street  to  Eighty- 
third  street. 

Foundations  (1601)   $367,791  08 

Iron  structure  6. 12  miles   1 , 413 , 846  48 

Track  superstructure  6.12  m   307,836  22 

Stations  (17)   410,343  54 

Real  estate,  No.  69  Greenwich  St . . .         52 , 795  42 

Tools  and  machinery   25,432  89 

  $2,578,045  63 

3 


24 


Engines  (12)  : .       $54, 774  62 

Passenger  cars  (48)   208,386  25 

  $263,160  87 

Miscellaneous,   being  proportions 
of  items  from  statement  No.  7, 

chargeable  to  this  line   217,317  84 

Total    $3,058,524  34 


Statement  No.  6. 
Amounts  charged  to  account  of  the  incomplete  lines  of  the  Metropol- 
itan company,  being  the  west  side  line  from  Eighty-third  street  to  the 
Harlem  river,  via  Ninth  avenue  and  Eighth  avenue  and  the  east  side 
line,  from  Chatham  square  to  One  hundred  and  twenty-ninth  street, 
via  Second  avenue,  to  September  30,  1879. 


Foundations  (3,000)   $1,786  695  85 

Iron  structure   2,610,109  47 

Track  superstructure   177,251  54 

Stations   57,004  05 

  $4,631,060  91 

Equipment  •   524,866  52 

Surveys   15,163  99 

Sundries   94,714  31 

Miscellaneous,  being  proportions  of  items  from  table 

No.  7,  chargeable  to  these  lines   217,317  85 


Total.,   $5,483,123  58 


In  Statement  No.  7  I  have  included  all  the  items  of  the  account 
that  were  incurred  on  account  of  both  sections.  Some  of  these  ex- 
penditures are  of  so  general  a  character  as  to  be  chargeable  to  the  sec- 
tions in  proportion  to  mileage,  while  others  are  in  greater  part 
chargeable  to  the  completed  section.  I  think  their  aggregate  amount 
may  justly  be  divided  equally  between  the  two  sections,  and  have  so 
entered  it  in  Statements  5  and  6. 

Statement  No.  7. 
Items  of  miscellaneous  expenses  represented  by  vouchers  or  directed 
to  be  paid  by  resolution  of  the  board  of  directors,  chargeable  in  vary- 
ing proportions  to  the  complete  and  incomplete  lines. 


25 


Contingent  expenses   $173,107  25 

fund    1,043  54 

Office  salaries  and  expenses   55,696  69 

Electric  signals   31,668  71 

Engineering   92,269  75 

Right  of  way   3,177  36 

Incidental  damages   9,214  70 

Directors'  meetings   1,435  00 

Engineer's  equipments   1 , 091  12 

Noise  experiments   13,970  77 

Improvement,  71  Broadway   20,845  67 

Printing  and  stationery    17,809  89 

Experimental  span   8,773  44 

T.  A.  Edison   500  00 


Total   $434,635  69 


These  three  statements  account  for  all  the  charges  for  construction 
contained  in  Statement  No.  4,  except  those  in  the  following  list,  num- 
bered Statement  No.  8,  some  of  which  are  not  at  all  chargeable  to  con- 
struction, and  none  of  them  wholly  so. 


Statement  No.  8. 

Items  not  chargeable  to  construction.      .  , 

Taxes  and  insurance   $15,568  41 

Amounts  charged  for  work  upon  engines  and  cars 

after  completion   168,000  67 

Interest  account   426,328  12 

Bond  discount. . . !   415,500  00 

Legal  expenses  !   375,272  61 

Keal  estate   693,832  83 

Sundry  reverse  accounts   88,539  94 

J.  F.Navarro  ,   105,000  00 


Total   $2,288,042  58 


Of  these  items  the  charge  of  $15,568.41  for  taxes  and  insurance 
accruing  after  the  opening  of  the  road,  and  that  of  $168,000.67  for 
work  done  upon  cars  and  locomotives  after  being  fitted  with  air- 
brakes, paper  wheels,  and  heating  apparatus  and  brought  into  use  be- 
long in  the  operating  account.    About  two-thirds  of  the  sum  of  $426.- 


26 


328.12  charged  to  interest  account  is  credited  to  stockholders  as  inter- 
est on  their  payments  for  stock,  and  the  rest  is  made  up  of  interest 
allowed  contractors  on  deferred  payments  and  discounts  of  commercial 
paper. 

The  $415,000  charged  to  bond  discount  represents  the  loss  on 
$3,605,000  in  bonds  of  the  Metropolitan  company  sold  to  Kohn,  Loeb 
&  Co.,  $1,000,000  at  85  per  cent,  and  the  rest  at  90  per  cent  from 
December  31,  1878,  to  September  19,  1879. 

The  rate  at  which  these  bonds  may  have  been  sold  is  evidently  not 
an  element  of  the  construction  account.  The  expenses  incurred  in  over- 
coming the  legal  difficulties  encountered  in  building  the  road  are  proper 
charges  upon  construction,  but  they  mnst  have  been  less  than  were 
involved  in  maintaining  the  life  and  enhancing  the  value  of  its  fran- 
chises before  construction  was  begun,  and  in  organizing,  setting  in 
motion,  and  directing  the  machinery  by  which  this  enterprise  was  de- 
veloped. 

Not  more  than  ten  per  cent  of  the  real  estate  charged  at  $093,832.83 
is  needed  or  available  for  the  purposes  of  this  railroad  on  account  of 
the  consolidation  with  the  New  York  Elevated  railroad. 

The  remainder  constitutes  an  independent  asset. 

The  item  of  $88,539.94  charged  to  "sundry  reserve  account,"  I 
understand  to  represent  percentage  retained  on  pending  contracts  lor 
construction,  all  which  are  assumed  by  the  Manhattan  company. 

I  fail  to  see  any  thing  to  connect  the  credit  of  $105,000  to  Mr. 
Navarro  for  "  office  salary  and  expenses"  with  construction. 

Comparing  the  cost  of  this  road  according  to  the  above  statements 
derived  from  the  books  and  vouchers  of  the  Loan  &  Improvement  Com- 
pany, with  that  of  the  New  York  Elevated  road,  it  will  be  seen  that 
nearly  every  item  except  the  road  structure  cost  much  more  than  like 
construction  on  the  latter  road.  In  the  case  of  stations,  equipment 
and  track  superstructure  this  difference  is  in  a  great  measure  explic- 
able from  the  greater  completeness  and  better  quality  of  these  classes 
of  property  on  the  Metropolitan  line,  but  the  difference  in  the  cost  of 
foundations  does  not  appear  susceptible  of  such  explanation. 

The  cost  of  the  foundations  built  by  the  Loan  &  Improvement  Com- 
pany, as  stated  in  their  accounts,  and  covered  by  their  vouchers, 
averages  $468  each,  while  the  average  cost  of  all  the  materials  enter- 
ing their  construction,  according  to  the  details  furnished  by  chief  engi- 
neer Shunk,  is  less  than  $135  or  29  per  cent  of  the  whole  cost. 

The  1,600  foundations  built  by  days'  labor  (as  were  all  those  on  the 
Metropolitan  line)  on  the  New  York  Elevated  road  cost  $201  each  and 
the  materials  of  which  they  were  built  cost  $91.50  each  or  45  per  cent 
of  their  whole  cost. 


27 


The  contract  known  as  the  tripartite  agreement  made  between  the 
New  York  Elevated,  the  Metropolitan,  and  the  Manhattan  companies 
at  the  time  the  roads  were  leased  to  the  latter,  provided  for  the  can- 
cellation of  the  Loan  and  Improvement  company's  contract  for  con- 
struction, and  that  the  Manhattan  company  should  be  chargeable  with 
all  work  done  and  property  received  by  the  Metropolitan  company 
after  January  31,  1879,  and  reimburse  it  for  all  expenditures  made 
on  the  West  Side  line  north  of  Eighty-third  street,  and  for  all  expendi- 
tures on  the  East  Side  line,  and  should  assume  all  the  sub-contracts 
of  the  Loan  and  Improvement  company  except  that  for  building  the 
iron  structure  on  the  west  side  from  Eighty-third  street  to  the  Har- 
lem river,  for  which  it  was  to  pay  nine-tenths  of  a  cent  per  pound 
(amounting  to  about  8300,000)  more  than  the  contract  price.  To 
provide  for  the  expenditures  then  assumed,  it  was  stipulated  that  the 
Manhattan  company  should  receive  from  the  Metropolitan  company 
86,000,000— 12,600,000  in  first  mortgage  bonds,  and  the  rest  in  money. 

By  a  contract  of  even  date  between  the  Metropolitan  comanpy  and  the 
Loan  and  Improvement  company  the  latter  company  agreed  to  cancel 
its  contract  for  building  the  road  of  the  former  company  and  the  second 
mortgage  bonds  issued  to  it  under  that  contract,  and  to  assume  the 
payment  of  86,000,000,  provided  to  be  made  as  above,  to  the  Manhat- 
tan company,  on  the  following  conditions  :  1st.  That  the  Metropolitan 
company  shoul<J  increase  its  capital  stock  to  $6,500,000  and  issue  it 
to  the  Loan  and  Improvement  company :  2nd.  That  the  former  com- 
pany should  issue  its  first  mortgage  bonds  to  the  latter  company  as 
fast  as  the  terms  of  the  mortgage  permitted  (8600,000  for  each  com- 
pleted mile  of  road),  until  the  whole  number  issued  to  them  should 
amount  to  $8,500,000  ;  3d.  That  upon  a  settlement  of  the  accounts 
between  the  Manhattan  and  the  Metropolitan  companies,  under 
the  tripartite  agreement  above  described,  all  the  money  reim- 
bursed to  the  Metropolitan  company  as  expended  by  the  Loan  and 
Improvement  company  should  belong  and  be  payable  to  the  latter 
company.  As  a  consequence  of  the  first  of  these  canditions  the  Loan 
and  Improvement  company,  as  the  sole  stockholder  of  the  Metropoli- 
tan company,  became  the  recipient  of  the  $6,500,000  Manhattan 
stock  issued  as  a  consideration  for  the  Metropolitan  lease. 

Now  let  us  see  what  the  Loan  and  Improvement  company  pay  for 
$6,500,000  of  Manhattan  stock,  $S,500,000  of  the  first  mortgage 
bonds  and  86,500,000  of  the  stock  of  the  Metropolitan  company, 
representing  the  whole  property  and  the  only  lien  upon  it.  The  cost 
to  them  is  evidently  measured  by  $6,000,000  added  to  the  cost  of  the 
West  Side  line  south  of  Eighty-third  street,  and  of  half  the  joint 
structure  in  Chatham  square,  New  Bowery  and  Pearl  street,  as  the 


28 


Manhattan  company  assumed  every  thing  else.  On  no  rational  theory 
can  we  assume  any  of  the  items  of  statement  No.  8  to  be  admitted  on 
a  settlement  between  the  Manhattan  and  the  Metropolitan  companies, 
except  the  following  : 

Equipment   $168,000  67 

Legal  expenses   875,276  61 

Real  estate   693,832  83 


$1,237,106  11 


These  expenditures  are  so  general  as  to  evidently  belong  pro  rata 
to  the  whole  line.  The  West  Side  line  below  83d  street  and  the  joint 
lines  constitute  almost  exactly  one-third  of  the  whole  Metropolitan  line 
and  their  proportion  of  the  above  sum  is  $412,368.70. 

The  indebtedness  for  joint  construction  on  Pearl,  New  Bowery,  etc., 
assumed  by  the  Loan  and  Improvement  company,  appears  by  the 
books  of  the  New  York  Elevated  company  to  be  as  follows: 

Foundations  iron  structure  and  track  superstructure..  $149,753  04 
Stations   18,501  61 

Total   $168,254  65 


Adding  these  items  to  the  cost  of  the  West  Side  line  by  statement 
No.  5,  we  shall  have  the  following  statement  of  the  cost  of  the  above- 
mentioned  securities  to  the  Loan  and  Improvement  company. 

Cost  of  West  Side  Line,  south  of  83d  street,  from  state- 
ment No.  5  ,  $3,058,524  34 

Metropolitan  share  of  the  cost  of  joint  lines  not  included 

above   168,254  65 

Proportion  of  doubtful  items  from  statement  No.  8. . . .     412,3t>S  70 

Stipulated  payment  to  Manhattan  company   6,000,000  00 

Total  $9,639,147  69 


A  very  considerable  expenditure  will  be  required  on  the  part  of  the 
Manhattan  company  to  finish  the  incomplete  Metropolitan  lines.  The 
estimated  cost  of  this  completion  from  September  22d,  1879,  when  the 
construction  account  of  the  Loan  and  Improvement  company  was 
closed,  was  stated  by  Mr.  Shunk,  chief  engineer  of  the  Manhattan 
company,  as  follows : 


29 


For  foundation  structure,  track  stations  and  sundries. . .  $2,803,261 
Yards,  shops,  etc.,  at  termini   1,000,000 


$3,803,201 

To  which  should  be  added  for  pending  equipment  con- 
tract  220,000 

$4,023,261 


The  tripartite  agreement  provides  that  if  the  sum  of  86,000,000 
stipulated  to  be  paid  to  the  Manhattan  company  for  the  completion 
of  the  Metropolitan  lines  proves  insufficient  the  Metropolitan  com- 
pany should  issue  its  first  mortgage  bonds  in  sufficient  amount  to 
make  up  such  deficiency,  not  however  to  exceed  the  limit  expressed 
in  the  mortgage  of  $600,000  per  mile. 

If,  in  the  settlement  between  the  Metropolitan  and  Manhattan  com- 
panies, the  whole  construction  account  of  the  Loan  and  Improvement 
Company  be  allowed,  the  latter  company  will  be  entitled  to  re-payment 
by  the  Manhattan  company  of  nearly  half  a  million  dollars,  which  will 
swell  the  deficiency  to  be  supplied  by  further  issues  of  bonds  by  that 
amount.  The  total  mileage  of  the  Metropolitan  lines  finished  and 
under  construction,  converting  the  joint  portion  into  equivalent  double 
track  is  18.11  miles,  which,  at  $600,000  per  mile,  authorizes  the  issue 
of  $10,866,000  fn  bonds,  or  $2,366,000  in  excess  of  the  amount  assigned 
to  the  Loan  and  Improvement  Company,  but  about  $2,000,000  less  than 
will  be  required  to  meet  the  deficiency  indicated  by  Mr.  Shunk's  esti- 
mate and  the  Loan  and  Improvement  Company's  account. 

The  east  side  line  and  a  portion  of  the  west  side  line  are  being  built 
partly  with  three  and  partly  with  four  tracks,  which,  if  convertible 
into  equivalent  miles  of  double  track,  would  increase  the  mileage  suf- 
ficiently to  provide  for  any  probable  deficiency. 

The  Structure. 
Various  types  of  road  structure  have  been  built  by  this  company, 
the  most  prevalent  consisting  of  rivetted  triangular  trusses  under  the 
tracks,  similar  to  those  of  the  New  York  Elevated,  carried  by  straight 
transverse  girders  and  borne  by  two  wrought  iron  columns  of  the  Phoenix 
model.  In  wide  streets  these  columns  are  placed  about  twelve  feet 
each  side  the  center  line  of  the  street,  and  in  narrow  streets  on  the 
curb  lines.  They  are  founded  in  a  similar  manner  to  those  of  the 
New  York  Elevated  road  heretofore  described.  The  most  notable 
deviations  from  this  type  are  on  South  Fifth  avenue  and  a  consider- 
able part  of  Sixth  avenue,  where  the  columns  are  of  rectangular  sec- 


30 


tion  built  of  channel  bars  and  plates.  The  trusses  are  pin-connected 
and  attached  directly  to  the  upper  part  of  the  columns.  The  tracks 
are  borne  about  midway  between  the  top  and  bottom  chords  by  trans- 
verse plate-beams  attached  to  the  columns  and  panel-posts. 

The  floor  system  adopted  on  this  road  differs  from  that  on  the  New 
York  Elevated,  only  in  being  about  fifteen  per  cent  heavier. 

This  applies  to  the  steel  rails  as  well  as  to  the  timber,  the  rails  of 
this  road  weigh  from  fifty-six  to  sixty-three  pounds  per  yard,  while  on 
the  New  York  Elevated  they  weigh  but  fifty  pounds.  The  workman- 
ship is  quite  equal  in  quality  to  that  of  the  other  road. 

All  the  iron  road  structure  of  the  east  side  line  appears  by  the  de- 
tailed drawings  furnished  me  to  be  so  designed  and  constructed  as  to 
carry  the  heaviest  trains  of  this  company  without  greater  stresses, 
than  8,000  pounds  per  square  inch,  in  the  chords  or  6,000  pounds  on 
the  web  and  rivets.  All  the  transverse  girders  on  the  west  side  line 
and  all  the  longitudinal  trusses,  except  the  pin-connected  ones  above 
mentioned,  carry  these  trains  without  exceeding  the  limits  of  stress 
fixed  by  the  Rapid  Transit  commissioners,  viz.:  9,000  pounds  per 
square  inch  in  the  chords,  and  7,500  pounds  per  inch  in  the  web  and 
rivets.  The  pin-connected  trusses  on  South  Fifth  avenue,  and  Sixth 
avenue,  covering  nearly  two  miles  of  the  road,  possess  very  serious 
defects.  Like  all  the  earlier  structures  for  these  roads,  they  were 
designed  for  a  uniform  moving  load  of  1,500  pounds  per  foot  of  single 
track,  in  the  belief  that  the  rolling  stock  to  be  used  upon  them  would 
thus  be  amply  provided  for.  A  short  trial  of  light  locomotives  proved 
that  with  the  frequent  stops,  incident  to  this  traffic,  rapid  transit, 
could  only  be  secured  by  powerful  machines,  and  locomotives  were  in- 
troduced weighing  42,000  pounds,  concentrating  a  weight  of  34,000 
pounds  upon  a  rigid  wheel  base  of  five  feet.  The  fact  that  these 
engines  with  their  attendant  trains  do  not  in  any  position  bring  upon 
two  consecutive  spans  so  great  a  load  as  1,500  pounds  per  foot,  and 
that  the  upper  flanges  and  web  members  of  the  rivetted  trusses,  which 
experience  their  worst  effect,  were  designed  with  high  factors  of  safety 
saves  the  transverse  girders  and  the  longitudinal  trusses  of  the  latter 
class  from  injurious  strains  from  this  concentration  of  load.  It  is 
otherwise  with  the  inclined  ties  and  iron  floor  system  of  the  pin-con- 
•  nected  structure.  The  ties  are  subjected  to  a  stress  of  over  10,000 
pounds  per  square  inch,  and  the  flanges  of  both  the  floor  beams  and 
track  stringers,  over  12,000  pounds  per  square  inch. 

Part  of  the  floor  beams  of  this  type  of  structure  have  continuous 
plate  webs,  while  in  the  rest  the  web  between  the  two  tracks  consists 
of  single  inter-secting  angle  bars  attached  to  the  flanges  by  single 
three-quarter  inch  rivets. 


31 


These  web  connections  being  fully  strained  every  time  a  train  passes 
vone  of  the  beams  without  meeting  another  train  upon  it,  were  so 
enormously  overworked  as  to  soon  show  signs  of  suffering,  and  are 
being  reinforced  by  attaching  channel  bars  to  the  flanges  between  the 
tracks,  and  introducing  an  additional  system  of  braces.  The  flanges, 
however,  are  not  reinforced  beyond  their  points  of  maximum  stress. 
It  is  true  that  only  three-fourths  the  maximum  strain  is  felt  in  these 
beams  when  but  one  track  is  loaded,  yet  in  view  of  their  compound 
structure,  the  suddenness  with  which  the  load  is  applied  and  the  fre- 
quent recurrence  of  meeting  trains,  they  appear  to  me  too  heavily 
worked  to  insure  permanent  security. 

A  considerable  part  of  the  track  super-structure  is  provided  with 
footways  outside  the  tracks,  but  additional  facilities  for  track  inspec- 
tion and  repairs  are  needed. 

Stations. 

The  stations  are  similar  in  their  general  character  to  those  of  the 
New  York  Elevated,  but  are  more  commodious  and  more  highly 
finished.  Their  platforms  are  alike  in  need  of  railings  and  gates  to 
prevent  accidents. 

Equipment. 

The  equipment  of  the  Metropolitan  company  consists  of  55  locomo- 
tives and  175  passenger  cars.  The  engines  are  powerful,  well  built 
and  highly-finished.  They  have  been  fitted  with  every  available  device 
for  increasing  their  efficiency  and  to  lessen  the  annoyances  of  noise  and 
cinders.  The  cars  are  well  built,  comfortably  arranged  and  finished 
and  tastefully  decorated. 

The  Operation  of  the  Elevated  Roads. 

The  operations  of  both  these  roads  have  thus  far  been  embarrassed 
by  the  want  of  terminal  and  shop  facilities. 

The  losses  resulting  from  a  lack  of  these  facilities  and  those  inci- 
dent to  the  experimental  phase  of  their  development,  render  the  finan- 
cial results  thus  far  attained  an  uncertain  guide  in  estimating  the 
results  of  future  operations. 

Being  pioneers  in  the  field  of  elevated  railway  transportation,  we 
cannot  elsewhere  find  conditions  sufficiently  analogous  to  throw  light 
upon  such  an  inquiry.  The  business  of  these  roads,  from  the  starting 
of  the  New  York  Elevated  on  its  widened  basis  in  1877,  and  from  the 
opening  of  the  Metropolitan,  June  5th,  187S,  may  be  summarized  as 
follows  : 


32 


Business  of  the  New  York  Elevated  Road. 


Year  Ending 
October  30,  1878. 

Year  ending 
October  30, 1879. 

4  months  ending 
January  5,  1880. 

Miles  of  road  operated.  . . 

Passengers  carried  

Mileage  of  trains  

Operating  expenses  .... 
Business  of  the 

7  miles. 
4,916,322 
not  known. 
$429,988.35 
250,727.56 
179,260.79 

Metro  polii 

13  miles. 

29,875,912 
2,679,666 

$2,239,489  08 
1,171,339  78 
1,068,149  30 

"an  Elevated 

14  miles. 

$922,121  02 
291,400  01 
640,721  01 

Road. 

Four  months, 
ending  October 
1,  1878. 

Year  ending 
October  1.  1879. 

2  months  ending 
December  1, 1879. 

Miles  of  road  operated. .  . 

Passengers  carried  

Mileage  of  trains  

Gross  receipts  

Operating  expenses  

5  miles. 
4,320,348 
not  known. 
$351,272.82 
124,072.64 
227,200.18 

7  miles. 

16,069,489 
1,620,408 

$1,285,980  09 
709,524  47 
576,455  62 

11  miles. 

$589,260  40 
185,836  48 
303,423  92 

The  income  of  the  New  York  Elevated  for  the  year  ending  October 
1st,  1878,  was  nearly  all  derived  from  the  9th  avenue  and  Greenwich 
street  line,  as  the  east  side  road  was  only  opened  to  42d  street  in  Au- 
gust of  that  year. 

The  9th  avenue  line  has  been  run  as  a  single  track  road  nearly  all 
the  time;  the  re-building  of  the  old  structure,  now  nearly  completed, 
having  been  begun  soon  after  the  second  track  was  finished.  Not- 
withstanding this  fact,  and  the  want  of  proper  facilities  for  economi- 
cal operation,  the  net  earnings  for  the  year  ending  October  30th,  1879, 
were  15  per  cent  of  the  total  cost  to  that  time,  including  the  large 
expenditures  for  construction  made  during  that  year. 

The  Metropolitan  road,  from  its  opening,  June  5th,  to  October  30th, 
1878, 'less  than  four  months,  had  made  $227,000  net,  or  7  per  cent  of 
all  the  cost  to  that  time,  nearly  all  which  had  been  expended  during 
that  year.  During  the  next  year,  with  only  about  a  third  of  its  road 
completed,  and  utterly  without  shops  or  terminal  facilities,  its  net  earn- 
ings were  nearly  seven  per  cent  on  the  amount  expended  for  construc- 
tion, though  two-thirds  of  this  sum  was  represented  by  incomplete  and 
unproductive  property.  The  earnings  for  the  last  four  months  show  a 
large  increase  in  earnings,  and  operating  expenses  reduced  to  thirty- 
one  per  cent. 

The  great  volume  and  rapid  increase  of  this  business,  with  the 
addition   that   must   come   to   it   from  the  con  tributary  suburbs 


33 


and  unimproved  portions  of  the  city,  insure  a  brilliant  future 
to  these  enterprises,  and  make  it  probable  that  when  completed 
and  thoroughly  organized  and  equipped  in  every  department,  they 
will,  under  their  present  tariff,  make  gross  earning  of  over  $6,000,000 
per  annum,  and  net  earnings  of  $4,000,000.  There  are,  however, 
problems  growing  out  of  the  peculiar  conditions  surrounding  this 
method  of  transportation ;  such  as  the  life  of  the  track  and  track 
superstructure  under  the  heavy  work  of  constant  use  and  frequent 
stops  on  a  rigid  structure  ;  the  cost  of  maintaining  the  structure 
itself  and  the  probable  average  length  of  haul,  t.  e.,  the  ratio  of  the 
number  of  fares  to  train  miles,  when  the  lines  arc  completed,' which 
render  any  present  estimate  of  net  earnings  somewhat  uncertain. 

The  greatest  danger  attending  the  frequent  movement  of  trains 
arises  from  the  possibility  of  trains  colliding  at  switches,  or  moving 
trains  running  into  those  at  rest  in  darkness,  storms  or  fogs.  The 
former  are  increased  by  the  lack  of  yard  room  at  termini,  and  demand 
— after  the  elimination  of  all  dispensable  switches  —  the  best  switch 
devices  and  untiring  vigilance  in  their  care  and  use,  while  the  latter 
can  only  be  guarded  against  by  a  perfect  signal  system  or  high  illu- 
mination of  the  roadway. 

To  provide  the  mechanical  devices  and  the  methods  of  organization 
and  management  required  to  move  the  great  tide  of  human  travel  that 
will  soon  crowd  these  lines,  with  the  greatest  dispatch,  comfort  and 
safety,  and  with  the  least  injury  to  private  rights  and  public  uses  in 
the  streets  they  occupy,  demand  the  highest  resources  of  human  inge- 
nuity and  administrative  ability. 

My  acknowledgments  are  due  to  the  officers  of  these  companies  for 
the  assistance  they  have  rendered  and  the  facilities  they  have  afforded 
me  in  the  prosecution  of  these  inquiries. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

E.  SWEET,  Jr. 

Albany,  January  21th,  1880. 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


